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Tracheostomy in the young pediatric burn patient
C E Coln1, G F Purdue, J L Hunt
1The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 75235-9158, USA.
Objective:
To evaluate the incidence of complications in comparison with the benefits of tracheostomy in young pediatric burn patients (newborn to 3 years old).
Design:
Retrospective survey.
Setting:
Tertiary care burn center.
Patients:
A total of 1549 consecutive pediatric burn patients, of whom 180 were intubated.
Interventions:
Tracheostomy was performed in 76 children.
Main Outcome Measures:
Duration of mechanical ventilation, mortality, respiratory complications, airway complications, and condition of the airway at discharge from the hospital.
Results:
Seventy-six patients required tracheostomy. Their mean burn size was 34% total body surface area and mean length of stay in the hospital was 56 days. There were no perioperative complications. Eight patients (10%) could not be decannulated because of airway obstruction. Five of these outgrew their obstruction, 2 required surgery, and 1 continues to be evaluated for laryngeal reconstruction.
Conclusion:
Pediatric tracheostomy can be performed safely with no perioperative complications and acceptable chronic morbidity.